The first round of open beta testing for TERA on consoles went well. (According to the developers, at least.) What can be done to extend that warm fuzzy feeling? Why, doing it all over again, obviously. Although you won’t be allowed into this particular second round if you weren’t in the first round, we’re sorry to say. It’s standing room only.

Meanwhile, the magnificently quirky Project Gorgon has entered early access, so you can go buy it now. Unless you have some deep-seated fear of being turned into a cow or something.

You know what? We’re dropping the war thing to just let you know that there’s a list of games in testing below and you can let us know if we missed one or two important phase changes. Sometimes that happens when we’re in the trenches. The war against the onrushing tide of titles is never-ending.

The second open beta for TERA’s console edition arrives on March 16th, but if you weren’t part of the first test, you won’t be part of the second. Seriously, it’s only available to testers from the first round, that’s just the way it is. (One could argue that isn’t the definition of an “open” beta, but let’s not quibble.) Of course, it’s also running for only two days, so it’s more about being around for stress tests as well as putting a variety of bug fixes and UI improvements to the test for veterans.

The level cap for this test has been buffed to 58, with players able to unlock the Reaper class once they successfully hit level 40. (Whether or not you should fear it is an open question.) Taking part will also net participants a Blue Angel Halo, if you needed a little extra bribery to get you motivated. So pop on in and see if the changes have significantly improved the experience of playing the game.

Feel like punching something hard in the face? Then get over to TERA, where the Male Brawler has joined his female counterpart in the game’s lineup.

The Male Brawler has his own style and moves as he throws punches with his giant powerfists (that’s a thing, we didn’t make that up). He comes alongside of a few other features in this update, including the re-balanced Ruinous Manor dungeon, seven new hairstyles, and PvP leaderboards.

En Masse is throwing a series of events for the remainder of the month to celebrate the patch. These include handing out a free character slot from now through March 20th, a “level up box” for Male Brawlers leveled to 15, and a couple of weekend warriors events that pay out in free lootboxes.

GIbiz reports that Bluehole and PUBG Corp have bought up MadGlory. We don’t know how much money changed hands, but we do know that the company is primarily focused on “custom matchmaking engines” and other multiplayer tools. The publication suggests that the newly dubbed PUBG MadGlory will be working on the PUBG Developer Portal coming out in April, which will basically allow community modders access to the API.

And MMO Culture has a brief piece out on Bluehole’s acqusition of Red Sahara Studio, a mobile studio that will be working on another TERA spinoff.

So, how did the first open beta for TERA on consoles go? In brief, it went well. In more words… well, why not take a look at the recap on the official site? There were some performance issues and some problems, and as a result the team is holding a second open beta this weekend to identify and fix some of those problems. Players who want to take part should leave the client on their consoles so that they can update quickly.

Players also managed to unlock all of the stretch goals for participation over the weekend, which means that all players will earn special masks upon logging in at the official launch. In other words, it wound up going pretty well! And you’ll have a little more time to test the game from the comfort of your couch again, so it works out well no matter what.

The open beta for TERA’s console edition has arrived, and as a result, the developers want the servers under pressure. It’s the only way to be sure that when the game launches they can handle the mass of players logging in, after all. So how can you help with that? Get into the open beta and stress the heck out of those servers, obviously. There’s even a schedule of specific stress windows just for logging in and staying logged in on Saturday and Sunday (March 10th and 11th, don’t you know).

Players can also earn rewards by getting up to the open beta level cap of 38 during the open beta period. In fact, you’ll earn rewards for every 10 levels you reach, but the best rewards are reserved for those at level 38. So get into the game, stress those servers, and start pushing yourself to the level cap. It’s how you win fantastic prizes, after all.

Feel like punching a wall sometimes? That’s probably a bad idea, what with walls’ general reluctance to give way and your brittle hand bones starved for vital calcium. But you can get the virtual effect for some visceral fisticuffs if you head into TERA Online this week, thanks to the addition of the Male Brawler class.

This male version of the already-present Female Brawler is mainly a cosmetic variant rather than a genuinely new class. While both genders have the same moves, they differ in their animations and style. Sometimes that is enough, you know?

Patch 66 also increased the maximum number of character slots to 19, reopened the Ruinous Manor for conquest, added new hairstyles, and instituted PvP rankings for comparison purposes.

Still pumped for TERA’sXbox One and PS4 launch this spring? En Masse sure is. The publisher has pushed out a new trailer today giving players a “first look” at what gameplay will look like on console – and what exactly is changing along the way.

“The new trailer released today demonstrates the detail of improvements made to TERA: streamlined interfaces, intelligent button mapping, and new gameplay systems complement TERA’s trademark fast-paced combos, dodging, and targeting mechanics,” says the studio. The port is promising native voice chat, a lock-on system to keep enemies square on your screen, new remappable per-class control schemes, and Twitch integration. While the video shows some classic hotbars galore, En Masse says the UI is being “redesigned with a new, fully customizable Radial Menu for quick and intuitive access weapons and items.”

The open beta begins Friday, but you can take a peek at the new trailer right now.

On this week’s show, Bree and Justin dive into deep mysteries, get ready for a slice of RIFT Prime, and once again try to figure out just what the heck Daybreak is doing with its H1Z1 franchise. Also, BREE SINGS. It’s as amazing as you always imagined.

It’s the Massively OP Podcast, an action-packed hour of news, tales, opinions, and gamer emails! And remember, if you’d like to send in your own letter to the show, use the “Tips” button in the top-right corner of the site to do so.

And, of course, there’s a whole list of games down below, games that are forever in testing and those that are just in testing for the moment. Is something on there that ought not be any longer? Do let us know so we can correct it. Or just share beta stories in the comments, that’d be cool too.

A lot of games have found ways to play with the idea of buying gold, usually with some form of currency exchange regulated by the game: You buy an item for subscription time with real money, someone else buys it for gold, you get the gold. TERA has decided to cut out the middleman with the Federation Gem Crates. You buy those, you get gems. What do you do with gems? You sell them to merchants for a lot of money.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a lootbox without some element of randomness, so you’ll never be sure of exactly what you get within a given crate. There are four different gem packages available, each one retailing for a different amount from merchants, so you could luck out and get a lot of money or wind up with very little money on a whole. But probably not, as player trial runs have shown it’s a bad bet.

“The Open Beta for TERA on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 computer entertainment system will run from March 9, 2018 at 6:00 a.m. Pacific (PST) until March 12, 2018 at 12:00 a.m. Pacific (PST). PlayStation 4 and Xbox One players will have access to the Beta by visiting the PlayStation Store or Microsoft Store beginning on March 9.”

En Masse says Bluehole “has taken great care to adapt the vast world of TERA and its best-in-genre action combat to console platforms. […] Consoles need a solid MMORPG and TERA is prepared to deliver.” Well now, that’s a lot more confidence than the teams had a few months back! Formal launch on both is still expected later this spring. Check out the announcement vid down below!

To celebrate the latest class to be added to En Masse’s TERA, the studio released a short trailer of a gauntleted fist beating the stuffing out of a panda. It’s a bold marketing strategy, Cotton, let’s see if it pays off for them.

The panda-punching class in question is the male Brawler, who is arriving in the March 13th Counterpunch update (the action MMO previously added the female Brawler in a past patch). Mechanically, the male Brawler is identical to his female counterpart, although he will sport different skill animations.

TERA’s Counterpunch is also bringing back a slightly reworked Ruinous Manor dungeon, throwing in a leaderboard system for monthly seasons, and triggering a series of free giveaways. There is an additional character slot (March 13th through the 20th), a free special lootbox (March 17th and 18th), and a level up box for male Brawlers (March 13th through April 10th).